GG5: Absence Makes The Spy Grow Stronger
by HayleeGoode97
Summary: Cammie cant remember anything she's done since she left Gallagher Academy 2 months ago. Now that she's back can her family, her friends and Zach protect her while helping her remember what took place that summer? And who tried to make her forget? Zammie
1. Chapter 1

**HI! This is my first fanfic so im really sorry if its not very good :( I love the Gallagher Girls and this story just sorta came to me so I hope you like it... Also the characters might be OOC but if they're like, extremely OOC let me know and I'll try and fix it. Review pleeaase it would mean a lot! Oh and Zach Goode is a sexy beast. Just sayin.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Gallagher Girls. Unfortunately that means I dont own Zach either ;(. But Ally Carter does!**

**Enjoy! XOXOXO**

When I started waking up, I felt disorientated in a way that I'd never felt before in my life. My eyes fluttered

open to see that it was dark and I was outside in some type of alley that I couldn't remember ever seeing

before. My internal clock told me that it was 10:37 pm (at least, in Roseville, Virginia it was) but other than that I

was completely confused. I didn't know where I was or what the date was or what had happened so that I

would end up there. The last thing I remembered was boarding a plane in Virginia that would take me to Russia

and then it was like nothing had happened after that, but I knew better. Either I had amnesia (highly unlikely

considering physically I felt normal) or someone had given me something so that I would forget things. Things

that were probably important to my mission. I shook my head in disappointment and got up off the ground,

making sure everything was functioning properly (becasue having a broken limb would just be the icing on the

cake) while checking everything out I noticed I was dressed in clothing that looked like it came from Macey

McHenrys closet. I walked quickly out of the alley way and down a path until I found myself standing on a main

street with plenty of people and cars driving by. I gasped realizing that for some unknown reason I was standing

In Hartford, Nebraska approximately 12 miles from my grandparents house. Did I go there? What else could I

have been doing in Nebraska? There isn't much else in this part. I also knew exactly how to get to the airport

from where I was so I ran there and quickly bought a ticket using a stolen credit card (I felt bad about that) and

a passport I found in my coat pocket that stated my name was Elise Brennen. An hour later I boarded the plane.

when I finally settled into the comfy airplane seat I realized that even after sleeping for god knows how long I

was still really tired but I wasn't about to sleep. Just because I hadn't seen any sign of the COC yet didn't mean

they werent lurking about, waiting for me to fall asleep. So instead I thought about my sisters, my mom, my aunt,

Zach and I also tried to figure out if I could remember any details about what had happened. I soon realized I

couldn't.

As soon as we touched down I ran out to the parking lot and hotwired an inconspicuous honda civic and drove to

Gallagher. I parked about a mile away from home and immediately began thinking about my options. I could go

to my mom first but I wanted to figure things out before I went to her. It wasn't fair to her that after I already

ran away for 2 months ( I checked at the airport, it had been 2 months 1 week and 3 days since I left home) but

I couldn't just come back and say "Hey mom guess what? I have no idea what I've done or where I've been this

summer!" No I wouldn't do that. Mr. Solomon could still be in a coma, Bex and Macey would probably kill me and

interrogate me to death. That left one last option. Zach. I groaned. It wasn't that I didn't want to see him (I was

actually itching to see him again) the thing was that I figured that he was probably angry with me and even

though he had every right to be I really hated it when he was mad at me. I rolled my eyes and got out of the car

to walk to the school. When I reached the entrance to the tunnel I had always used to sneak in and out of

school, I got it opened with no problems and smirked to myself. They still hadn't found all of my old hiding spots,

the thought made me smug but it also brought uneasiness. I would probably have to tell mom to seal it so no

unwanted visitors could get in. I ran the short distance of the tunnel but then stopped and tried to figure out

how to figure out where Zach would be staying. I decided to take a guess and thought mom probably left him in

the room he was staying in before I left, in the East Wing. I took 2 lefts and a right, staying out of the cameras

views and also taking in every detail, figuring out what had and hadn't changed in my school, my home. When I

got to the door of the East Wing I just stood for a minute and stared at it thinking about that afternoon 2 years

ago when Professor Buckingham had told us it was locked. It almost seemed as if that locked door had set

everything in motion but I knew I shouldn't blame the door ( because if I did, lets face it people might think I'm

crazy, which I'm totally not...) I had set everything in motion the night I met Josh. But even though that had

started all this I couldn't, and I knew I would never be able to, regret that decision because my relationship with

Josh is what made my mom bring Blackthorne to us. Bring Zach to me. And now, Zach was just a part of me like

Bex and Macey and Liz (except not exactly like them, I'd never made out with any of them..). He was important to

me and I knew that no matter how long we were separated, no matter what either of us did through our lives,

he always would be. And I would always love him unconditionally ( I still love him and his mother is trying to kill

me, or kidnap me I find that pretty unconditional). But as I picked the lock on the door of his room it flew open

before I could finish and I was yanked inside.

"You are in so much trouble." The person growled into my ear. He had me pushed up against the wall in the room

and there was a dim light on somewhere in there. As I calmed my heart I looked up into the eyes of Zachary

Goode and knew I was wrong. Zach wasn't angry or mad. He was furious.

**Pros and Cons of Your Almost-Sorta-Not-Really-Boyfriend Being Furious With You**

**Pro: **He's really hot when he's mad...

**Con: **He's also kinda scary...

**Pro:** When you make up later it will mostly likely involve confessing feelings, something Zach doesn't do very often.

**Con: **When he actually has a good reason to be furious, it makes you feel guilty. Really, really guilty.

**Con:** He might give you the silent treatment after. He's done it before.

**Con: **He could disappear afterwards. Just to worry you.

**Con: **He will probably notify your mom/slightly psychotic best friends that your home. They will not be nearly as gentle with you.

**Con: **You might cry.

Well fan-freaking-tastic.

**REVIEW PLEASE! Comments, questions, concerns, suggestions?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey :) I was really happy and excited about the reviews this story got so I went right into another chapter and voila! School's been pretty slow lately and I've had a lot of time to write :D Anyways, so in this chapter Cam and Zach might be going a little OOC but I sort of wanted to make them that way to show how this experiance changed them and they're a lot more open with eachother. If I went too OOC though let me know and I can try ans fix it. **

**Disclaimer: Ally Carter owns the Gallagher Girls not me.**

I was sitting with my legs crossed on Zachs bed watching him pace back and forth. I could practically see the anger radiating from him and as he turned to face me I knew I was in deep trouble.

"Do you have any idea what you've done? Oh wait, no of course you don't because you've been GONE!" I stared at my hands and waited for him to get it out of his system.

Interrupting him would make it worse. Half a year ago I'd thought I knew nothing about Zach, and maybe at the time that was true but now I knew a lot more. One of them

being that, even though he cared about me and my safety, didn't mean that he wouldn't yell at me until he got what he wanted. Which was basically for me to do nothing

but hide and let him deal with the Circle and his mother. Psh yeah right. "We have been looking for you since the day you went missing Cammie. We thought you were

dead! Liz has cried more in the last 2 months than she has in her entire life, Bex has been hitting everything in sight including me and Macey has been the most mood-

swingy insufferable, girl in the world! Your mom has been more frantic with every passing minute! How in hell did you manage to come to the conclusion that running away

was a good idea?" I couldn't resist answering that one. Even if it was rhetorical.

"You asked me to run away with you. What's so different about me going by myself?" He shot me a glare and I knew I'd stepped over a line.

"Do not blame this on me Cameron. You decided to be stupid all by yourself. What I wanted to do was completely different! I wanted to go off the grid together, keep

eachother safe and come back after we'd formed a plan, a solid plan, to take down the Circle. Key word being 'we'. You've been asking me questions for years and I was

finally willing to let you be a part of the answers because I'd thought that you had finally developed a sense of self-preservation. I realized once you left that I was wrong.

Damnit Gallagher Girl why can't you just let the people who love you protect you? Why do you always have to throw yourself in harms way?" I looked into Zachs eyes and

noticed that anger wasn't the only thing there. Oh sure it was the most prominant and he was plenty angry but I could see that he was hurt. He was hurt and frustrated but

underneath, he was happy I was back. "Cammie how could yo be so stupid? You know how much you wanted to protect us? That's how bad I want to protect you. Except

50 times more." As the anger started fading the hurt took over and he looked at the floor when he whispered, "You said you'd be careful. I thought I could believe you." And

with that I couldn't hold back anymore, I got up and quickly made my way overe to him.

"I'm sorry." I whispered as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He snaked his arms around my waist, holding me close. I smiled into his shoulder as a feeling of calm

washed over me, I hadn't felt this safe in the time since I'd woken up and it was nice to know that Zach would protect me even if I didn't need protecting. It was good to

know that I didn't need to have my guard up at that moment because even though I'd questioned his motives an insane amount of times through the past couple of years I

knew in my heart that Zachary Goode was not my enemy. He pulled away for a minute and gave me a concerned look.

"Have you been eating? You feel like you've lost weight. A lot of it." I looked down and pressed myself back into him remembering that now I would have to acknowledge

out loud that I didn't have a clue as to what I'd done that summer. "Gallagher Girl? You ok?" I shrugged but didn't move. I didn't want to tell him, which is weird because

there wasn't even anything to tell. Zach pulled away and got me to sit down on a nearby desk chair. He crouched down to my level and forced me to look him in the eye.

"Cammie, what happened this summer?" I wanted to look away but there was something about his gaze holding me.

"I don't know." I whispered. He stood back up and leaned against the desk, running a frustrated hand through his thick, dark brown hair.

"Cammie haven't we been through this enough times? You can tell me. You can trust me." He was going to keep ranting but he noticed me shaking my head and stopped.

"Zach if I didn't trust you why would I be here? I trust you, okay? I honestly don't know what happened this summer. I can't remember anything. I woke up in an alleyway in

Nebraska last night and came straight home, that's all I know. I have no idea what happened this summer." I really wanted to cry. But crying is something I've always hated

to do in front of people. I'm a spy, I've been trained not to show weakness to anyone and even though I trusted and cared for Zach a lot I wasn't ready for that. So I sucked it

up and tried to keep the tears in while realization crossed his face.

"So basically you can't remember anything about this summer? Do you have any injuries or anything? Are you going to be ok?" He looked worried and under any other

circumstances I would've studied his face and agonized over it for hours. But right now that wasn't what I was worried about. Zach gave me another hug and I finally realized

how tired I was feeling.

"Zach? Can I sleep here for a while? I'm so tired and I'm honestly not ready to see Bex, Liz, Macey or my mom right now. I need to get some rest and figure out what I want

to say before I see them. Is that ok with you?" He pulled me over to his bed, and pulled back the covers. I sat down and he gave me a soft kiss on the forhead.

"Yeah, of course. You get some sleep and I'll be back later with some food. I need to talk to Mr. S anyways. He woke up about 2 weeks ago and he's been really worried

about you. Is it ok if I tell him you're here?" I nodded and layed down. "Ok. I'll see you later. Oh, and Cammie?" I looked up and watched as he brought his face closer to

mine. He smirked (a real Zachary Goode smirk) and pecked me on the mouth. I smiled and he whispered into my ear, "If you ever do someething like that again, I'll drag

you back here and lock you up." He left laughing and I slipped into a blissful sleep.

**REVIEW! Comments, questions, concerns, suggestions?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey Guys! So now I'm starting to think more about the plot and I'm really looking for some suggestions so if you have anything you would like to see happening in this story let me now! By review or PM or whatever :D Oh and keepe those reviews coming! It actually makes my day when I get reviews :) anyways thanks guys and I'm excited to see what direction this story takes with your suggestions! (Oh and no Cammie will not get pregnant. I just dont think it's something she would do.)**

**Disclaimer: Ally Carter is pretty lucky. she owns the Gallagher Girls. and Zach :(.**

When I woke up, Zach wasn't back yet. My internal clock told me I had only slept for about 3 hours (I fell asleep around 9:13 am and when I woke up it was 12:24 pm) but I

felt refreshed and a lot more awake after my nap. I wasn't sure where Zach was or when he would be back but I knew that leaving this room would be a bad idea considering

as far as I knew Macey, Bex, Liz, mom, or any other person who would either be really, really pissed at me or turn me over to someone who would be could be anywhere in

the mansion and I still wasn't ready to see anybody else. Seeing Zach had already taken an emotional toll on me and I knew not everybody would be as forgiving about me

running away as he was. But even though I knew I couldn't leave, I didn't know when Zach would be back and I was getting pretty bored in there. So I did something I'm not

really proud of. I decided to snoop through his stuff. The first thing I did was go over to the closet and open it up. I saw a box on the floor so I picked it up and pulled off the

lid very carefully. Inside I found 8 black T-shirts that look like the ones we use for gym class here at Gallagher except for you could tell these were made for boys. On the

front of the T-shirts there was plain white writing that said "Blackthorne Institute For Boys" I figure that these were what they wore at Blackthorne to work out and stuff when

they werent wearing the ugly orange jumpsuits I had seen on my trip to Blackthorne. I noticed that all the shirts said "Goode" on the back and smiled. I didn't know why

Zach kept them but I was glad he did. It was nice to know that he owned personal things as well as what he needed. I wondered if Blackthorne was home to Zach like

Gallagher was to me but I figured that it probably wasn't. Zach didn't like what they stood for and I knew his mother had probably sent him there for reasons I didn't want to

know. But I did want to know. I wanted to know everything about Zach, even if I didn't exactly like what I found I knew my feelings wouldn't change because even if I didn't

know about the things he'd done in the past I knew who he was in the present and that's really all that mattered to me. I packed the shirts back up and kept looking but all

that was left in the closet were a few pairs of shoes so I closed the closet door and moved my search to the desk in the corner of the room. I saw a file folder on the desk

but figured I would ask him about it when he got back instead of opening it without him. There's just something about file folders that makes me not want to open them

without permission. There were also some photos spread out over the desk and I picked one up and realized they were taken from some sort of security camera in an

airport and they were of a girl. I stared at her and stripped away her disguise piece by piece, take off the fake nose, the coloured contacts and the wig. Get rid of the

expensive clothes and the mole over her right eye and I saw that it was me. The time stamp said it was taken about 4 weeks ago, another thing for me to talk to Zach

about. I shook my head and set the photos back down, moving from the desk to the dresser. The first thing I noticed was the picture sitting propped up against the mirror. I

reached for it and once I realized what it was I had a big smile on my face. I walked over to the bed and layed down on my stomach just staring at it. The picture was of me

and Zach, I knew exactly where and when it was taken but I had never seen the actual photo until now. It was on the night of the ball at Gallagher when Madame Dabney

had stopped us on the stairs and taken a picture with her brooch. In the picture I was smiling but I could also see in my face that I was annoyed and nervous but that's not

what my eyes were drawn to. They werent drawn to my face, they werent drawn to my arm wrapped around Zachs, they werent even drawn to the fact that you could see

Bex giving Grant a flirtatious smile in the background. They were drawn to Zachs face. He was smirking slightly (as usual), but he wasn't looking at the camera. He was

looking at me (the me in the picture not the me who was looking at the picture). Just sort of staring. The thing was though, I could see so much in the way he was slightly

rotated towards me and in the way his eyes held so many emotions. The picture took my breath away and made me go back to that night, made me think of how

everything had changed since then. Back then, I didn't trust Zach at all. I thought he was cocky and arrogant and annoying (which he still could be sometimes) and I hadn't

yet broken through his perfectly sculpted mask but even back then I had been drawn to him in a way that I couldn't quite understand. I was still staring at the picture when I

felt the side of the bed dip and a hand find it's way to the middle of my back, rubbing circles there. I turned my head to look at him and saw that he was smirking at me.

"You didn't even hear me come in. Are you ok?" He asked with a smirk on his face. When he saw what I was looking at the smirk got bigger. "Madame Dabney gave me

that 2 weeks after you left. She said she was looking through some old photos on her computer and found it and she thought I might want it. I think she made another copy

for you if you like it. She also had one of you with Bex, Mace and Liz that they have hung up in your old room." I smiled.

"I'll ask her for both when I see her. Hows Mr. Solo- Mr. S?" I asked, correcting myself at the last minute. Mr. Solomon died in the tombs. The man lying in the infirmary

right now was Mr. S.

"He's good. He's excited that you're home and relieved that you're ok. He also asked me to tell to you not to keep your mother waiting too long. She's been through

enough. Gallagher Girl I hate to admit it but, he's right. You can't keep you mom or your friends in the dark about this for long. Sometime, either today or tomorrow, you

need to see them and let them know that your ok. The longer you make them wait the more pissed off at both of us they're going to be. And I've beene hit by Bex plenty of

times already I'm not looing forward to it happening again." I smiled at the thought of bex and my othere friends and knew that he was right. My mom and my sisters were 4

of the people I loved most in the world. It wasn't fair for me to let them be upset. But before I could agree with him aloud there was a furious pounding on the door.

"Zachary Goode! Open this door right now!" Macey...

"Cammie we know you're in there!" Liz...

"I'm going to KILL you Cameron! Zach, you're next!" Bex...

Zach and I looked at eachother with wide eyes. Crap.

**And there it is :) so I have a question! What's your favourite chapter so far? REVIEW! Comments, questions, concerns, suggestions?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys. Sorry I haven't updated in a couple days but hopefully the chapter (especially the ending) makes up for it! I know the girls are a little harsh but I think they probably will be when she comes back in the real GG5 too don't you think? Do you guys think the format of this chapter is easier to read? Am I staying in character enough? Let me know! And pleeeaase review. **

**XOXOXOX**

**Disclaimer: Ally Carter owns the Gallagher Girls series plus all the characters, that lucky duck!**

Zach and I stared at eachother, frozen, while the knocking continued. The way it was going I could tell my room mates were pissed.

"What do you want to do?" He asked. I thought for a minute and decided. They might hurt me, but I loved them and I knew even though I had made them really angry and worried, they were my sisters and they loved me too. I gave him a half smile.

"Well I really don't want them breaking down your door so we're gonna have to open it. If you grab Bex I can deal with Macey and Liz, do whatever you have to do to restrain her, but don't hurt her ok?" He gave me a smile and nodded. He got up to go answer the door but there was one more thing I needed to say before our time alone was completely disrupted. "And Zach?" He turned around to look at me. "Thanks for everything. You're the best."

Zach smiled a big smile this time and I stood up and followed him to the door. I nodded and he unlocked it. The second to door opened a fraction of an inch, it was knocked the rest of the way open and a figure flew in. Zach grabbed Bex before she could reach me and I was grateful because I had never seen Bex Baxter as angry as she was in that moment.

"Let go of me! Zach! Let me GO!" She was grunting and stuggling but even though Bex could kick anyone at Gallaghers' butt, Zach was (technically) a trained asassin. He could take her, he had 4 inches and at least 50 pounds on her and she was angry which meant she was more vulnerable to mistakes so while Zach had her busy, I dealt with Macey and Liz.

"Guys I'm so, so sorry." I started. Liz was frozen halfway between me and the door, staring at me with wide, betrayed eyes while Macey stood beside her, glaring. "I know I should've told you I was leaving but you would've tried to stop me or join me. I couldn't let you stop me because I needed answers and I needed to get them myself. I couldn't let you come with me because I had to protect you guys. I had to protect you from them. I know it's stupid and I'm the one that they're after but they would use any of you to get to me and you know it. The Circle doesn't really care about who they hurt, minus Zach, and I just knew that if I took you girls with me something bad would happen. I know you don't understand-"

It was then that Macey cut me off. Zach and Bex were still stuggling in the background but I could tell they were both listening to me.

"I do understand. Don't you get that Cammie? The feeling that the world is resting on your shoulders, the need to protect people around you because you're the one causing them pain, the instinct that no where is safe? I felt all of that before. Before the Circle was after you, we thought they were after me, remember that? I ran, but you came after me and brought me home because this is where I was supposed to be. Where I belonged. Well I don't know anyone who belongs here as much as you do and you left. Was it worth it? Was your little trip worth making Liz cry everyday? Was it worth making your mom feel like she'd lost you dad all over again? Was it worth having Zach fight Bex just now, even though they love eachother like family? You know he would do anything for you. You took advantage of that when you came back and went to him first. Yeah I understand how you were feeling but I don't understand how you thought it would be ok to leave us for 2 months thinking you were DEAD!" She screamed the last word and stormed out of the room.

By the time she was finished tears were running down my face. Bex and Zach had stopped fighting. Bex was looking at the ground but Zach was looking at me. When he saw I was crying he came over and hugged me to his chest, stroking my hair. I heard Bex mumble something about going to check on Macey but I knew when she squeezed my hand on the way out that with her I was on my way to forgiveness. Liz made her way over to the bed and sat down, putting her head between her knees. I knew this is what she usually did to calm herself down and keep from crying and s ince I didn't want to see her cry I turned my face into Zachs shirt and tried to inhale as much of his scent as possible to calm myself down. When I stopped crying and my breeathing returned to normal he leaned down and whispered to me.

"She's just angry. She'll forgive you, so will Bex and I think Liz already has. Even I know she says things she doesn't mean when she's upset. It's just hard for her because hse doesn't let many people see beyond the cover and then you, one of the people she does, hurt her so the anger is just her defense mechanism. Don't worry Gallagher Girl. Everything will be ok." I smiled and wondered to myself when Zach had gone soft. Don't get me wrong, I loved seeing this side of him, it was just a weird thing to experiance aftter years of cryptic non-answers and smirks.

"Since when do you understand my friends better than I do?" I asked jokingly.

"Macey and I are more alike than you'd think." Was all he said. I smiled again and turned my head upwards he was about to lean in and kiss me when we heard Lizs' timid voice. I'd almost forgotten she was there.

"Zach can I talk to Cammie? Just us? Sorry to kick you out of your room." Zach looked over to her and smiled, Liz always had been his favourite of my friends.

"Course Lizzie. Go easy on her okay? Macey already yelled enough for all of us." And with that he kissed me on the cheek and left.

"Liz I'm sorry I made you cry." She nodded and walked over to me.

"It's ok Cam. I forgive you as long as you promise not to do it again." I thought I over and nodded. She gave a relieved sigh. "Thank God. You had us worried sick." And with that she barreled into me, giving me one of her hugs that could squeeze the life out of you. After about 10 minutes, she pulled back and gave me a knowing smile. "So since when do you and Zach act like a real couple instead of the disfunctional mess your relationship usually is?" I blushed and then didn't now wether or not to be insulted but I just let it go.

"I don't know. He's been really good to me since I got back and I feel so lucky to have him around. I think I sorta love him. Which could be a problem considering his mother is trying to kill me. But he's proven time and time again that I can trust him so I'm going to." Liz had a huge grin on her face.

"That's good because trust me he loves you too. You should've seen him when you left he was even more paniced than your mom." I smiled but my mood was dimmed at the thought of my mom. I really had to go see her soon before someone else told her I was here. I decided I would talk to Liz until Zach came back and then I would drag him with to her office. I felt pathetic that I wanted him to go with me but he was my rock right now and I really needed him there. And then Liz asked the one question I didn't want to hear.

"So did you find anything?" I sighed.

"I don't know." And then I launched into the story of how I woke up and couldn't remember a thing. Lizs' eyes widened and she was up in a flash.

"I'm going to go work on a memory restoring formula! Come find me later ok? We'll run some tests! Later Cam, love ya!" And with that she was off. I sighed and looked around the room, feeling tired once again. I grabbed a long t-shirt that was hung over the door to the bathroom and changed into it, figuring Zach wouldn't mind. After that I layed down in the bed and fell asleep.

Later I felt the bed move and rolled over to see Zach sitting on the side of it. A look at the clock revealed I had been sleeping for a while. Zach smirked at me wearing his shirt and I rolled my eyes.

"Hey. It's late. You sleeping here?" I gave a sleepy nod and noticed he had pyjamas on already (well, guy pjs which translated into pj pants and a t-shirt). I pulled him down so he climbed into bed with me, pecked my lips and wrapped an arm around me. We both fell asleep quickly.

**REVIEW! Comments, questions, concerns or suggestions?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! I'm sorry my updating isn't very consistent! Forgive me? Thanks the the people who are reviewing and if people are reading and not reviewing please review it makes me really happy :) and it makes me want to write more ;) if you have anyting that you think would make the story better tell me! I love hearing what you guys have to say it helps give me ideas too. I know the story is moving kind of slowly so I think I'm going to start picking up the pace and making chapters longer :) What do you think?**

**XOXOXOX**

**Disclaimer: Ally Carter owns the Gallaghere Girls**

The next morning I woke up warm and secure. I gave a small hum and heard an unexpected chuckle come from under me. I opened my eyes and realized I was laying half on top of Zach with my head and one hand on his chest. One of my legs was draped over him under the blanket and his arm was wrapped snugly around my waist. I blushed, a little embarrassed but smiled and shifted so I could see his face. He was smiling at me and he looked so happy I couldn't help but grin back at him.

"Hi." Was all he said before kissing me. It was a kiss I hadn't recieved in a long time, one full of passion but it was slower than last time. Last time we had both been scared and all too aware of the danger that haunted us both. This time we werent kissing because we thought we might never see eachother again or not get another chance, we were kissing because we wanted to, because at that moment wrapped up in the blankets and eachother there was nothing else that we wanted more than to just be together without worrying about what came next. I pulled back from him and we smiled at eachother again.

"Hi." I whispered in response to what he'd said earlier. I layed my head back down onto his chest.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked. The faint smugness I heard in his voice confirmed 2 things. One, he was smirking. Two, he already knew the answer to his question he just wanted me to answer it out loud.

"Good. I have to go see my mom today. Will you come with me?" Before I asked the question he was perfectly relaxed but as soon as the words were out of my mouth I noticed a tension appear in his body language that made me look up with a frown on my face. He was frowning too and I was worried I'd broken the cocoon of love and warmth we'd been living in since we'd woken up. I gave him a questioning look and he sighed.

"Gallagher Girl I like that you depend on me and feel like you can count on me because I care about you a lot. I more than care about you actually, but that's a conversation for another time. Anyways, I like that I do but, I can't go with you to see your mom." I was about to protest this but he cut me off. "Cammie she's your mom and your all she has left. When you see her it's going to be emotional for both of you and I don't want to intrude on that because I know how much you and your mother love eachother. You both fight hard to keep what you feel from other people and even though you're ready to let me in, which makes me really happy by the way, your mom is not going to let me in that way. This is something you have to do by yourself." I knew he was right about everything but the alarmed look on my face must have alerted him to my feelings. "What are you so scared of? It's just your mom."

"I don't want a repeat of last night. Everything with Macey, I'm not over it." I said in a small voice. I watched as the emotions played across his face. Realization, sympathy, anger.

"That reminds me. I need to talk to her." His face was hard and his voice was almost a growl. My eyes widened and I grabbed his face, making him look at me.

"Zachary Goode you will do no such thing. Understand? This is between me and Macey. Remember that. You are not going to ruin your friendship with her over a fight that's going on between me and her. She was right about about what she said ok? It was upsetting to hear but she was right so now I'm dealing with that. This is not your fight alright?" He sighed but nodded. I smiled. "Good. Now we have limited time before I have to go see my mom so what are we doing for the time being?" He smirked.

"Hmm. We could go get some breakfast." I shook my head, although I was sort of hungry. He leaned in and kissed me again but he cut it off a lot faster this time, grinning. "Or we could just lie here and laze around while I get to kiss you whenever I want." By the time he finished I was all smiles.

"Sounds like a plan." He gave me a cocky grin and rolled himself over so he was leaning over me. I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck, running my fingers through his hair. How does he make bedhead look like the hottest thing ever? I pulled his face down to mine and for the next hour and a half we just stayed there together.

After we forced ourselves out of bed, I took a shower in Zachs bathroom, threw on the jeans I came home in (ew but I had nothing else) and another one of Zachs shirts, which made him smirk again and left his room promising to be back later. I made my way to my moms office and took a deep breath before knocking softly on the door.

"Come in." I heard from inside. I took one more breath before twisting the doorknob and walking inside. My mom looked up from her desk and her expression went from calm to shocked. "Cammie?" She ran over and pulled me into a tight hug. Tears sprang into my eyes. I felt so bad. I didn't regret running away but I regreted worrying my mom and the other people who cared about me. Mom was still holding me tight and I hadn't realized how much I had missed this until now. The comfort of being hugged by someone you knew would love you unconditionally. I loved my mom so much.

"Cammie I'm so happy you're back. Never do that again Cameron do you hear me? Oh I love you so much Kiddo." We were both crying as she led me to the couch and ssat down beside me. I layed my head on her shoulder and she stroked my hair soothingly. "Cam where have you been?" She asked suddenly. I sighed and explained the situation. She was quiet until I mentioned I came right home after I woke up and I realized I'd made a mistake. "How long have you been here?"

I licked my lips and tried to figure out a way to gloss this over. But came up with nothing. "Uhm, I got here at around 6 AM yesterday. " She turned to look at me.

"Then where've you been? Why didn't you come here first? Wait, where'd you get that shirt? Why does it look like a boys-" She stopped talking and narrowed here eyes. "Zach." I hesitantly nodded. She shook her head and then her eyes widened. "And you spent the night with him. In his room. Alone." I nodded again but started talking before she could.

"Nothing bad happened! I promise! I just didn't know where to go so I figured Zach was my best option until I figured everything out. I'm sorry I worried you mom. I won't do it again. Ok?" She looked at me and nodded. I gave her one more hug and left to go find something to eat. Ont he way there I noticed someone walking beside me but didn't look over to see who it was until we got to the kitchen. I rotated to the side. "Macey?"

**REVIEW! Commenets, questions, concerns or suggestions?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi :) I was happy with the reviews from the last chap so I updated sooner than usual :))) More reviews= more chapters js. So if theree's anything you think I should change review! oh and Im going to start doing shoutouts for long reviews! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Ally owns all.**

I walked over to the table in the kitchen and sat down. After a moment Macey sat down beside me and folded her hands on the table. She stared at them for so long that I was getting nervous. I was about to break the silence with another apology when she looked up and into my eyes. Her gaze was piercing, I couldn't look away but it wasn't angry it was just intense.

"Do you swear you'll never do it again?" Ah, now I knew what she was doing. She was making sure I couldn't lie. I was startled though, because she hadn't just started yelling again so I was hesitant with my answer.

"Yes." Was all I said. She nodded, gave me a half smile and with that I knew we would be ok. Maybe it would take us a while to get back to the way we were but we'd get there eventually and that was good enough for me. I smiled back. "So what made you stop hating me?" I joked. She frowned.

"Cam I never hated you! I was just so worried and so hurt. I just thought if there was anyone you could trust to understand in this case it would be me and then we thought you might be hurt or dead or captured, not knowing where you were or how you were was horrible. So please don't do it again. But what made me stop being mad at you was basically what Zach had to say when he came to see me this morning." She smiled, like she was remembering it but I was frowning.

"I told him not to do that! Ugh, why can't he just listen to me?" She rolled her eyes.

"Because he loves you. Because he wants nothing more to protect you from anything that might hurt you whether it be the freaking Circle of Cavan or even me. Even though he knows you hurt me and even though you hurt him, and I'm not trying to guilt you about that I promise, he doesn't want to let anything hurt you or make you unhappy. God, Cammie don't you see how much he loves you? How much he cares? Don't angry with him just because he wants to make you happy and protect you." Her voice was exasperated and I felt like I knew exactly what she was thinking. That I was so freaking oblivious but to a certain extent I guess she was right. Of course I knew Zach loved me, he'd hinted to it this morning, but I hadn't realized how much until this conversation. Until I really heard what Macey said and looked into her eyes. What surprised me most was the jealousy there. Oh, she felt nothing romantic for Zach, that much was obvious, but she also didn't have many people like Zach in her life. People who would do anything for her or she knew would love here no matter what she did. I had always known how lucky I was to have my mom and, even though he was gone I knew my father still loved me, the other people around me who loved me but only now did it occur to me that Macey really only had me, Bex and Liz. I'm sure her parents loved her and cared about her but not in the unconditional, unchangable way that I had always known. But I knew bringing all of this up right now would be a bad idea so I just smiled.

"Ok I wont get mad at him. And yeah I know he loves me, I love him too. A lot more than I realized actually. One good thing that came out of this is that now my relationship with him is more real." I smiled thinking about this morning, how we had been so happy to just be together, how he made all my worries go away. SHe noticed my expression and smirked.

"So nows the part where you gush to me about how in love you are." And with that the floodgates were open and I couldn't stop talking. I described how he'd reacted when I came back, how caring and loving he'd been with me, I even told a little about this morning but I kept most of the details to myself. When I finally finished Mace just smiled at me.

"I've taught you well. I have to go so I'll see you later ok? Are you sleeping in our room tonight?" I shrugged, not sure whether or not I wanted to or whether or not my mom would force me out of Zachs room. She nodded and left me to get some breakfast. I made myself some toast, eggs and grabbed a bowl of yoghurt and ate by myself. I figured that after I was done I would go see Mr. S. I was looking forward to seeing him because I thought he might offer some insight. I was sure that in one point in his career as a great spy he would've had his memory erased at some point or another.

When I entered the infirmary he was sleeping in a hospital bed. The cast was off his leg and the bruises were gone but I could see the scars. In sleep, he looked more peaceful than I'd ever seen him. While awake he had always been aware. There had always been a certain tenseness. As if he was ready for anything. But, in sleep he finally looked completely relaxed. I guess ignorance really is bliss.

I pulled over a comfortable armchair from the corner and sat by his bed for another hour. Finally, his eyelids began fluttering. When he was fully awake he looked at me and smiled.

"You had everyone in a panic you know. Even I was worried." He didn't say it angrily. He seemed amused which was a shocking reaction after all the other ones I'd had. I grinned.

"Sorry."

"You've told your mother you're back I assume." When I nodded he let out a breath. "Good. Now let's talk about this memory dillema Zach told me about. What's the last thing you remember?" I thought back to leaving the academy. I left, got a ride to an airport, boarded a flight...

"Looking out the window of a plane. It was going to go to Russia and then to Athens. That's all I remember." He nodded and thought for a few minutes.

"What's it like when you try to remember?"

"It's like I can feel the memories there but I just can't reach them. Like there's some lid on them that wont come off." I tried to remember once again but it was like mentally pushing on a brick wall.

"I don't think anyone drugged you. I could be wrong but it seems more like something really bad happened so your mind put all the memories in a vault because there was no other way to deal with it." I gave him a confused look.

"Like some type of PTSD? The memories are there then, right? We just have to work hard to make them come out?" I was excited because that meant that eventually I could remember what had happened.

"Yes exactly like PTSD. But you should have Liz run a drug test anyways ok? And don't you dare try to skip over a medical checkup. Zach's been distracted by your homecoming but there's no way he'll let you not get one for much longer. Actually, the nurse will probably be back soon so why don't you just stay here until she comes back?" I laughed and nodded. We talked for 2 hours about lots of stuff. Missions he'd been on, the fact that after he was completely healed he'd have to get plastic surgery (although I didn't think it was needed because his scars changed his face a lot), my dad, which was painful for both of us so we didn't linger on it for very long. Finally I asked a question I'd been wondering about.

"Mr. S, did you ever know Zachs parents? I mean I know you must've at least known his mom a little bit but what about his dad? He doesn't really talk about them and I don't want to ask because I don't want to screw up this thing we have going. It's pretty good." I smiled a little but Mr. S gave me a stern look.

"Cammie I'm not the one to tell you about this. It's Zachs family and Zachs past. He'll tell you about it when he's ready to ok? Don't rush him on it and don't worry about it either. Just be with him, he loves you." I nodded and smiled.

"So I've been told." Then the nurse came back and gave me a checkup. She said I was fine so I left and went back to Zachs room. The door was open so I walked in to see Zach looking through a file on his bed. When he looked up to me his face lit up.

"Hey." I said, sitting down beside him. He put his arm around me and pulled me to his side. I felt that sense of calm I always got when I was with him wash over me as I layed my head on the curve between his neck and shoulder. He started rubbing circles on my hip.

"Hi. Where've you been?" He pecked my forehead.

"I saw my mom, you were right about not coming with me by the way, I saw Macey who told me you dropped by and I saw Mr. S. Guess what we figured out?"

"What?" And so I launched into the whole PTSD thing.

**REVIEW! Comments, questions, concerns or suggestions?**


	7. Chapter 7

**HEY! Sorry I've been mean and not updated :( I'll try and do better! So anyways now I'm gonna need some help for the actual plot, no idea what to do! So I need ideas. The other thing is im gonna bring in a few characters so do you guys want (you can pick more than one),**

**a) other blackthorne boys (grant, jonas etc.)**

**b) Abby**

**c) Civillians (Josh, Deedee, Dillion and I mean as like continuous characters in every chapter)**

**d) none of the above (insert other character here)**

**and one more thing, should Macey have a romantic interest in this story or no?**

**XOXOXO**

**Disclaimer: Ally Carter owns the Gallagher Girls**

"So basically you think that she's suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and that with extensive therapy she might recover her memories?" My mom asked. We were all gathered in Mr. S's infirmary room to talk about his theory. Mom was skeptical because she still thought I had been drugged but Lizs' extensive tests revealed that if there had been anything in my system, it was long gone by now. Mom was leaning on a wall close to Mr. S. Liz, Bex and Mace were seated on a couch at the other side of the room and Zach and I were in the window seat. He was leaning against the side with his legs stretched out while I was stretched out the same way except I had my back to his chest. He had his arms wrapped around me and kept kissing anywhere he could reach, which was extremely distracting especially when it was my neck.

"Basically yes. Cammie said that when she tries to remember it's like there's something covering up the memories. I think it's her brains way of defending itself from traumatic events that happened. Through intense therapy and a few other things I think we could access the memories." I was basically willing to do anything to remember so now that I had agreed, all we needed was moms approval. She looked over to me, rolled her eyes when she caught sight of Zach, and seemed to study me.

"Kiddo, you do realise what's happening here right? Something really bad must have happened. Are you sure you want to remember it? Maybe some mysteries are better left unsolved." I gave her a look and she sighed. "Fine but we don't even have therapists here. How are we supposed to organise this?" As her and Mr. S worked through the fine details, my room mates were chatting happily over by the wall and I was still concentrated on Zach. His teeth grazed my neck and an alarming thought came to mind.

"If you're leaving marks I'm going to hurt you." Was all I said. He chuckled and I could practically hear his smirk.

"What I'm not allowed to mark my territory?" He asked innocently. I stiffened and he noticed. He grabbed both of my hands in both of his and laced our fingers together. "Cam I'm joking. You're my girlfriend, not my territory or property and I understand that. I also would not give you a hickey infront of your mother, our friends and our teacher. That's kind of discusting. Although, if you wanted one we could go..." I laughed quietly and elbowed him. One part of his little speech stuck out though and I wanted clarification. So I turned so I was sitting sideways and could look at him.

"I'm your girlfriend?" Was all I said. I had added a teasing tone to my voice but I really wanted an answer. And of course Zach saw right through it.

"Well, that's how I think of you. Your the only girl in the world who I could even imagine wanting to be with that way, and I consider you mine. I don't mean in the demeaning, posessive way I just mean that if another guy even looked at you for a second too long, I'd probably have to punch him out. I care about you more than anything, want to be around you every single second and even when yor not around me physically you're always on my mind. So, if you want to be, I'd love for you to be my official girlfriend." I was in shock. Zach had been very open with me ever since I got back but I didn't think I would ever get used to him saying things like that. I let a huge smile spread across my face and pulled him to me for a long, passionate kiss. He responded immediatly, tightening the arm around my waist and moving his lips with mine. Our mouths were molded together perfectly and I felt feelings I had only ever felt, and I was pretty sure could only feel, with him. We stopped before things could get too heated and when we pulled away I looked right into his eyes.

"I didn't think you meant it like that. I _am_ yours, I hope I always will be. I would love more than anything to be yor official girlfriend and I feel exactly the same way." He smiled really big and I smiled right back, realizing we probably looked really cheesy right now but I couldn't of cared less. We started kissing again, just soft, gentle, closed-mouth kisses and when we pulled away I noticed everyone else was staring at us with different expressions. Mr. S was amused, my mom was frustrated (because who really wants to watch her daughter kiss some guy), Bex was smug, Liz was giddy and Macey looked she wanted to either seperate us by force or tease us to no end. I was blushing like crazy when Bex finally spoke up.

"Can you guys keep your hands to yourselves for like 5 minutes? It's adorable but not all of us have cocky, arrogant boyfriends to mack it up with Cam." She winked and I laughed. Zach looked at her like she was crazy.

"You forgot awesome, super hot and awesome. Oh and no we can't." He smirked and Bex and I both rolled our eyes.

"Yea Bex, let them enjoy it before we whisk Cammie off for our epic slumber party that Zach isn't allowed to come to. Sorry Zach but you won't see her again until tomorrow afternoon." Macey said smugly. I smiled. Hanging out with Zach was great but I had missed my girls. I needed this slumber party to be around my friends again. The girls who I knew I could trust to love me no matter what and would always be there. I loved them so much and couldn't wait to spend some time with them.

"You kids should get to your rooms ok? It's like 9." Mom said. After I told her I loved her, gave her a hug goodnight, we all said goodbye to Mr. S and exited the room, we all crowded to the hallway. I turned to the girls.

"I just have to grab some stuff from Zachs room. I'll meet you guys in our room." They nodded and made me promise to come soon. Zach and I walked back to his room laughing and joking and holding hands, while stopping twice to kiss quickly. When we got in I grabbed all the stuff I had in there and turned to him.

"Shirt off." Was all I said. He raised an eyebrow but took off his brown Hollister shirt, so he was just in his wife beater, and handed it to me. I ignored his muscled arms and the fact that his wife beater did nothing to hide the defined abs underneath, and threw the shirt into my bag. He gave me a questioning look and I just shrugged. "I have my reasons." He laughed and just shook his head, giving me a big hug and a kiss. I smiled flirtatiously and blew him a kiss as I walked out the door, yelling over my shoulder. "See you tomorrow!"

I made my way to my old room and just walked in. The girls had pushed all of our beds together and set up a tv across from it. Liz looked up from her laptop and smiled while Bex had been rummaging in our DVD collection.

"Hey Cam. Zach finally let you go?" Macey said coming out of our bathroom. I blushed, Bex snorted a laugh and Liz giggled behind her hands. "Aweh she's embarassed. It's ok Cammie. We understand that you missed Zachy ever so much." Even I had to laugh at that and then I ran over and layed across my old bed. I smiled, relishing in the familiar setting. Macey threw me a pair of sweats and a tank top and I put them on without questioning it.

"So, before we watch any movies I think we owe Cam an interrogation." Bex said in a scary voice. I thought they were talking about my summer so I shot a look of panic at Liz. "Not about the memory thing. We know about that already. I was talking about your relationship with a certain boy." She was grinning so I smiled back. These were my best friends, of course I wanted to spill about me and Zach.

"What do you want to know?" And with that the next hour was devoted to talking about everything Zach had said and done around me for the past 2 days. Liz was amazed, Bex was really excited and Macey just kept giving me this calculating look, like I was some math problem she was trying the figure out. We were all silent for a minute and with memories of me and Zach floating through my head I was pretty happy when all of a sudden I heard Macey speak in a low voice.

"You love him. Why didn't you tell us?" I looked up, startled and Bex and Liz looked shocked.

"I wasn't sure... and how did you know that?" I knew she was the boy expert but I had no clue how she'd figured that out.

"Wait, she's right? Oh my gosh!" Liz squealed and I laughed but turned to Macey for her to answer my question.

"Cam, it's written all over your face, his too actually whenever he's around you. You've changed him. He's not the same Zachary Goode as he used to be, which is good because the old version annoyed the hell out of everyone. Has he said it yet?" I shook my head.

"No. He said something about, more than caring about me I figured that's what he meant. We'll see. So are you guys satisfied? Cuz I want to watch a movie!" So we all got into bed and watched movies untl 3 am, when we decided to go to sleep. Before I went to bed I pulled Zachs shirt out of my bad and threw it on over my tank top. I layed down and smiled because it smelled just like him. And with that, I drifted off into sleep.

**REVIEW! Comments, questions, concerns or suggestions?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi :) This chapter in kinda Zammie overload so sorry if anyone doesn't like that but next chapter= little to none. So I really need you guys to suggest stuff for the plot because my brain is fried lol. **

**Enjoy**

**XOXOXO**

**Disclaimer: Ally Carter owns the Gallagher Girls**

**2 weeks later**

"Ugh! I can't take it anymore! This is useless!" I was pacing Zachs' room with my arms crossed, raging about how therapy was frustrating me. Two days after the decision to put me in therapy mom had organized for a psychologist from Langley (they had them for spys who need help after coming home from bad missions) to come stay with us for a few months to help me get my memory back but it had been a week and a half and all we'd done was visualise me leaving and getting onto a plane and she'd asked me weird questions that had nothing to do with me leaving or my memory.

Questions about my years at Gallagher, my years not at Gallagher, she'd asked me about my relationships with Zach, with my friends, with my mom and she'd asked me about my dad, what I thought happened to him, how I felt about his disappearance. She didn't even seeme concerned about my summer and that was all I was concerned about. I was growing even more annoyed every session and I'd had a one-hour session with her every day since the one she arrived. I had just finished one particularly frustrating one which is why I'd found Zach, dragged him back to his room and spent a half hour ranting while he sat patiently, listening. Until apparently he decided it was time for me to calm down.

"Cammie. Hey, come here." He stretched out his arms and I huffed but went over to the bed and climbed in. He was laying on his side with his head propped up on his hand so I layed the same way, facing him. His other hand reached up to caress the side of my face, and my anger immediately melted away. I closed my eyes and focused all of my attention on him. The way his hand felt against my face, the way I always felt around him, just him in general. "Before the therapy started you were told these things take time. You need to be patient and I know it's hard not knowing but I'm here for you and the girls are here for you and so is your mom. It's not useless. Eventually you will have the memories back but right now you need to do exactly what Dr. Hawk tells you to do and try to wait." I sighed, he had a point.

"Fine. It just seems like it's going way too slow. School is starting in like a week and we've made like no progress. All she does is ask me about my life and the people in it like, my friends and mom and you." He raised his eyebrows.

"You talk about me in therapy? Hmm." I gave a quiet laugh.

"It's against my own will. She gets to pick what we talk about. Apparently my relationships are important and since I have a relationship with you, we have to talk about does it surprise you that I would I would talk about you? You're important to me." I said the last part shyly, turning my eyes down to look at my fingers but he just grabbed my chin, to make me look into his eyes. He was grinning at me. His face was so happy, his eyes were sparkling and I mentally took a picture as my heart rate sped up. He was so gorgeous. And so mine.

"That's good, cuz you're important to me too. More important than anything." I smiled at him, melting at his words. He was always so good to me.

"I'm so glad you're here. I don't know how I would get through this without you." He smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes. I grabbed his hand and gave him a questioning look. He looked nervous about something.

"I guess now would be a bad time to tell you that I might have to leave for a few days." I looked down again. I didn't want him going anywhere, I wanted him right there where I could see him and know he was safe. But it wasn't my decision. If Zach wanted to leave I wasn't going to stop him. I knew I could though. If I showed him that I was really upset by it and asked him to stay, I knew he would but there was no way I was about to do that. It was only for a few days, I'd gone a lot longer before without him. But that was before. Before, when our relationship was based off cryptic, vague conversations that left me confused and frustrated but there had always been something that had drawn me to him. Now I was more than a little worried about what might happen if he left the safety of the academy walls. I closed my eyes to keep the panic out.

"Tell me you aren't going to see her." If he was going to find his mom I swear...

"No I'm not I promise. One Joes' old Circle contacts called me. He told me that my mother is recruiting at Blackthorne this September. And that she wants my old room mates Grant, Jonas and Nick. I just need to go to Blackthorne and see them. I need to do something. I just don't know what yet." I nodded. I felt so bad, if Bex, Liz and Mace were in trouble like that I dont know what I would do. I pulled him into me, hoping that it might comfort him at least a little bit. He took a deeep breath and hugged me back. We were sitting up, I was in Zachs lap with my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. He had his arms wrapped around me and I was content. I loved being held by him.

"You could bring them here. We were planning on you staying the year at Gallagher anyways, my mom will be ok with it, the girls will be ecstatic and I'll be with you so I'll be happy." He laughed into my hair but I could hear the smile in his voice.

"I'll see. Thanks for this Gallagher Girl, you're the best." He squeezed me tighter and I lightly planted a couple kisses on his neck. I reached a spot right under his right ear and I felt him tense up and make a small noise in the back of his throat. I smiled but before I could say anything he moved us so I was lying down with my head on his pillow. He pulled back to kiss me and I responded with just as much passion. Kissing Zach was like nothing else. Everytime we did, it felt like everything bad in the world disappeared and all I could think about was him. How he made me feel, how his smell and touch always calmed me in an instant, except of course when he did something like this. When he made my pulse race and my heart skip beats. He was hovering over me on his elbows but I could feel his entire body pressed lightly against mine and I just kept wanting him closer. He pulled away from my lips and went to my neck and jaw, kissing everywhere until I could barely think straight. He made his way to my ear and whispered into it, "I love you." I froze. I pulled back a little and looked at his eyes. He was nervous, I could see that, but I knew he was telling the truth. So I took a deep breath, smiled a bit and pecked his lips before responding.

"I love you too." His face lit up and we made out for a while longer. Afterwards we settled down, my back to his chest, his arms draped around my stomach and we just layed in that position for hours. We talked and laughed, kissed a little more and then, after he told me again that he loved me, we fell asleep together.

**2 days later**

I had stayed in Zachs room the past 2 nights, getting in as much time with him as possible before he had to leave but now that the day was here I was dreading it. I was sitting on the bed watching as he got packed. He noticed and came over to sit in front of me, smiling slightly. I tried to smile back as he took both my hands in his and rubbed mine.

"It's only for a little while ok? I'll be back in less than 2 weeks. I promise. I also promise I'll be careful. You just hang in there. The girls have beene missing you, spend lots of time with them and your mom. The time will fly by. We gotta get downstairs now. Come on." I nodded and walked hand-in-hand with him down to the front doors were a car was waiting to take him to an airport. I gave him a big hug and we kissed for a minute.

"I love you. Be careful. I'll see you soon?" He smiled and nodded.

"Yes you will. And I love you too. A lot. Sorry for ditching you for the first day of Senior Year." I laughed a little and shrugged it off. He pecked me on the cheek and walked out of the Academy. A tear rolled down my cheek but I wiped it away and started back to my dorm to see my friends.

"The time will fly by." Yeah I doubt it.

**Please,please,please REVIEW!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hii! I'm still looking for plot ideas so anything you want added either PM me or review! I'll try and get at least 2 more chapters out before I go back to school on the 9th but no promises! I would like to thank the people who have been reviewing, it means a lot to me 3 so without further ado, here's the next chapter!**

**XOXOXOXO**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Gallagher Girls series but Ally Carter does.**

**Enjoy!**

**5 days after Zach left**

"Good morning Cammie. I trust you slept well." It was 9 o'clock in the morning and I was seated on a couch in Dr. Hawks' office. She was sitting in an armchair, facing me and I felt completely uncomfortable while she watched me in the same, incredulous way she always regarded me. I hated the way she looked at me. She was probably a little younger then my mom and she had really boring brown hair that she always wore in a bun. Her eyes were hazel and she wore black-rimmed glasses. Whenever she said something it always felt like there was a double meaning and today in particular, this bothered me.

"I guess." I fidgeted in my seat and she seemed to analyse this as well. I was still frustrated by the lack of progress in my therapy and I had been venting to the girls a lot. They helped me run a background check on Hawk but she seemed pretty normal, no idea how she ended up working for the CIA. "And you?" My C&A training was kicking in I guess but the fidgeting wouldn't stop.

"Yes I did. You seem agitated. Is it because Zachary left?" I narrowed my eyes. Everyone said that I was more on edge the past few days. I refused to believe this. I was perfectly normal, I knew Zach hadn't just up and left me, he'd had to go save his room mates. He'd be fine.

"No it's not because Zach left. It's because we are getting absolutely no where with this therapy thing." I realized I had sounded sharper than I intended but Dr. Hawk didn't even blink. She just shrugged.

"Even so we should talk about this. Now, how did Zachary leaving make you feel?" I internally sighed. Here we go. All she ever wanted to talk about were my feelings. Don't get me wrong, I knew it was therapy but honestly.

"I'm fine. Zach had a good reason for leaving. A good reason that he told me about. And he promised me that he'd be careful so I'm almost certain he won't do something completely reckless. This isn't like last time." Oh, shoot. I slipped up. Dr. Hawk raised an eyebrow and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"He's done this before?" I shrugged.

"Well, yeah. Multiple times over the last year and a half he kept popping up, he would talk to me for a few minutes, tease me, give a few cryptic remarks that left my mind reeling and then he would disappear not to be seen or heard from until the next time." I smiled a little to myself, remembering. "I used to worry. But he always came back. And plus, like I said, this time is different." She asked me why and I sighed again. "Because now we're different. Our relationship is different. Those times were back when I had basically no idea who he was or where he came from. Back when he kept secrets from me and I didn't know whether or not I could trust him. Back when I couldn't for the life of me figure out what I felt for him, but all that is different." She gave me a sceptical look.

"How so?" I huffed. This was getting really annoying, really fast.

"Because we don't keep secrets from eachother anymore, I have some idea of where he came from, I know exactly who he is, I trust him with everything in me and I know that I love him. I'm fine I just can't wait for him to come home so can we talk about something else? Maybe something that has anything to do with what took place over the summer and why I can't remember it?"

She nodded. "Alright. Have you been having any dreams?" I gave her a look but before I could say anything she answered my unspoken question. "Dreams come from your subconscious. They can try and tell you things. Like perhaps give us an indication of what took place over your vacation. So answer the question."

"No. I haven't been dreaming much of anything. I had one dream about my dad but it was more of a childhood memory than a dream. Like a flashback of some kind. To my 8th birthday, which was the last one he was with us for." She nodded and wrote some things down on her stupid clipboard. I looked at the clock and saw that this session was over so I said a hasty good-bye and got out of there. When I got back into my room I saw that Bex wasn't awake yet and Liz and Macey were getting ready so I did what any good friend would do. I walked over to Bex and shoved her off her bed. She gave a groan of pain and glared up at me.

"Cameron do you have a death wish?" I giggled but ran to my closet anyways and grabbed my uniform. Today, everyone came home. Classes wouldn't start again until tomorrow but I could already hear a few car doors slamming outside. I left the girls to their own devices (Macey and Liz studying, Bex burying herself back into her bed) and made my way dowen to my moms office, noddng to Eva Alvarez and Courtney Baur as I passed them. Right before I got to moms office Tina Walters stepped into my path and I resisted the urge to groan. Here we go.

"Hi Cammie! How was your summer? I heard that you went on a mission with Zach to Guam and had to fight off 8 COC agents with nothing but a pack of gum, 3 magazines and a vase! Is that true? God that would've beene so scary! I also heard that when it was over you and Zach had to stay in a room together for a week!" She just kept rambling and I had to supress a grin. Her theories were just too ridiculous. Nobody knew about my little escape because my mom just told everyone that I had left early for my grandparents.

"Hi Tina. I actually need to go see my mom so if you'll excuse me..." I knocked on the door to my moms office and walked in to find her at her desk. She looked up at me and smiled.

"Hey Kiddo. I wanted to let you know that Abby is going to teach Cove Ops with Bexs' mom until Mr. S is back. Oh and I got an update this morning." My eyees brightened. I had asked my mom if she could keep tabs on Zach during his mission and this was the second update I'd gotten. "He's okay Cams. The mission is going smoothly, he should be back in a few days or sooner." I gave a sigh of relief and smiled, nodding. Mom studied my face for a minute before getting up and motioning for me to follow her over to the couch in the back of her office. "So what exactly is going on with you and Zach?" I blushed at her teasing tone but smiled.

"We're together officially now. It's kind of odd with him actually telling me things instead of giving me those cryptic answers I used to get but we're both different. We're better than ever though." She smiled and nodded at me. I decided to change the subject. "Mom, what's going to happen to Mr. Solo- Mr. S? Is he going to stay here and teach CoveOps?" Her smile dimmed.

"I don't know Cam. Maybe but how do we explain to the trustees that the man teaching our CoveOps class doesn't exist?" She had a good point. To the COC, the CIA and the rest of the spy world, Joe Solomon no longer existed.

"But then where will he go?" She gave me a sad smile and spoke the name I didn't think I'd ever hear again.

"He's Joe Solomon sweetie. Where won't he go? If there's one thing I know about that man, it's that he's a survivor. If he has to leave, I have no doubt he'll be fine. The question is, will we?" I sighed.

"What if we had a different teacher listed but it was like a team effort. He could teach with a partner. Aunt Abby perhaps?" My mom laughed at my suggestive tone, but I could tell she was thinking it over.

"If I can get your aunt to stay here that could possibly work. We'll see. Now you should go get ready. The Banquet starts in a half hour." I rushed to my room, grabbed my room mates (which took a while) and we made our way to the Grand Hall. The banquet went off without a hitch and Dr. Hawk was introduced as a 'Guidance Expert' so I guess since she was here they decided to put her to work. Finally, the doors at the back burst open and in walked my aunt looking just as badass as ever. She walked to the front of the room, removed her designer sunglasses and nodded to my mom. Mom nodded back and spoke into the microphone.

"My sister here, will be teaching CoveOps for an undetermind amount of time. I'm sure emost of you remember Ms. Cameron when she was on the McHenrys' private security. I'm sure all of you will welcome her with open arms." Everyone clapped and my aunt smiled. On her way out of the room I felt her hand brush my neck and when she left I pulled the note out of my blouse collar.

_Squirt,_

_Glad your home safe, don't worry us like that again alright?_

_You're mom told me about your idea and I'm going to think it over._

_-Aunt Abby_

_Ps. Your mom also old me about you an Zachary. Despite what I've said in the past, I approve._

_He's good for you. But I don't know how I feel about you sleeping in his room..._

I read it and smiled.

After the banquet all of the girls in the senior class changed into pajamas and gathered into a circle in the room Tina shared with Jessica and Courtney.

"Ok girls," bex gave a devilish grin. "Ready for truth or dare?" Oh gosh.

_**Pros and Cons to playing Truth or Dare with the Senior Class**_

_**Pro: It won't be boring that's for sure.**_

_**Con: Dares could get you into SERIOUS trouble.**_

_**Pro: You hear other peoples embarrassing sercrets.**_

_**Con: They ask about yours.**_

_**Pro: There aren't anymore pros.**_

_**Con: These girls can actually tell if you're lieing. And they will beat the truth out of you.**_

Well this should be fun...

**REVIEW! Suggestions for truths and dares would be nice!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Ok I'm going to admit that this is not my best work but the truth or dare game was a little difficult to write so I'm sorry if it's not great. I'm thinking maybe a Cove ops mission next chapter? Or maybe just a first day... I'm not sure yet. The other BBs will be there next chapter so if you guys have suggestions on how Nick should look, lemme know. AND REVIEW!**

**XOXOXO**

**Disclaimer: Ally owns the Gallagher Girls**

**Enjoy!**

"So, who wants to go first?" Bex was still grinning evilly and I was worried. This could get really intense, really fast.

"I do!" Tina almost always wanted to go first in truth or dare. I would rather not go until everyone else has gone.

"Truth or dare?" Asked Bex.

"Uhm, truth!" No one wanted dares from Bex ever since she dared someone to shave their eyebrows off in the 9th grade. Bex looked disappointed but thought for a moment before her eyes lit up. She gave a big grin. Uh oh.

"Use one word to describe me, Cammie, Macey, Liz, Zach and yourself." Well that's not what I was expecting. That one was tame for Bex. Hmm. She's up to something.

"You are adventurous, Cammie is caring, Macey is aloof, Liz is smart, Zach is mysterious," I snorted and everyone laughed, they thought I snorted because that was obvious but I did that because I didn't think of him that way anymore. I thought of the Zach who always went out of his way to protect me and make me happy. " And I guess I'm kind of nosy." Everyone giggled, hearing Tina admi that about herself but she just rolled her eyes and directed her gaze to Macey.

"Macey, truth or dare?" Macey kept her face impassive but narrowed her eyes a bit. Bex, Liz and I all considered Tina like a sister who annoyed the hell out of you but you loved and tolerated because she was family because that's what we'd been taught since 7th grade but with Mace it was different. The only girls she considered sisters were me, Bex and Liz and a few of the others were not people she liked. Tina especially after she'd started many rumors about Mace over the years.

"Truth." Tina nodded and thought for a minute before smirking.

"Who is the last person you made out with?" I started silently laughing my butt off. I knew the answer to this question. Macey shot daggers at me with her eyes which just made me laugh harder. She rolled her eyes and said in a monotone,

"Preston Winters." I couldn't hold in my laughter at all the shocked faces but Macey just smirked at me. Uh oh.

"Laugh it up Cameron why don't you tell everyone where you were when this happened?" I instantly stopped laughing and glared at her. Everyones faces turned from shocked to confused and they all looked from Macey to me. I could feel myself starting to blush. "Cammie was with Zach. Wearing a very short dress, in a very small space. I bet you guys were pretty up close and personal in there." I glared again.

"Mace you know perfectly well nothing happened in there. Do you not remember me being freaked out about him not kissing me that night for months?" She shrugged but I just shook my head. By this time everyone had recovered and was looking expectantly at Macey because it was her turn. She smiled at Bex.

"Truth or dare?" Bexs' eyes lit up like a christmas tree.

"Dare. Bring it on McHenry." I was worried. Bex and Macey, 2 of the bravest girls I knew. This was going to be bad. Liz and I exchanged a look.

"Ok. I, Macey McHenry dare you, Rebecca Baxter to play nicky-nicky-nine-door in the teachers hall." My eyes widened in alarm, as did Lizs, Annas, Evas and Courtneys. Jessica, Mick and Tina started cracking up but Macey and Bex didn't even notice. Their gazes were locked, so different yet so similar. Bexs' warm caramel eyes were nothing like Maceys' ice blue orbs but the look in them, that was the same. Both determind, both challenging. They were best friends but they were both stong, competetive people. Finally Bex sighed.

"How am I supposed to get out of there fast enough? Unless..." She turned to me. "Are there any passages that lead to that hallway?" I thought for a minute, I knew passages that lead to the kitchen, 18 of the classrooms, Moms office, our room, the Grand Hall and... Ah! Then it hit me. I found the passage in 7th grade. It started 2 hallways away and led to a wall right around the corner of the teachers housing area. Perfect. Tina lent Bex a tight black shirt and a pair of black jeans. Bex also grabbed a black hat and with that I led everyone to the passageway. When we got to the end of it I opened the entrance and Bex slowly creeped out. I followed behind her to stand at the end of the hall while she did it.

She quickly and silently made her way to the other end of the hallway and I resisted the urge to call off the whole thing. Bex couldn't get in that much trouble. It was just a prank. I watched as she began running down the hall, knocking on every door once along the way. When she finally reached me I grabbed her arm and bolted around the corner and into the tunnel. Court and Anna quickly shut the entrance and we all ran back down it, giggling and trying to be quiet. When we finally got back into the room we settled back into our circle and Bex smiled at Courtney. Who gulped.

"Truth or dare Ms. Baur?" Courtney just shrugged.

"Truth I guess."

"Alright. Most embarrassing thing you've done in front of a guy?" Courtney laughed and and thought for a second. Then she seemed to decide on one.

"Kay when the Blackthorne Boys were here Sophmore year Grant, you guys remember him right? The really, really hot one?" Everyone nodded and a few of the girls started tittering and giggling but Macey shushed them and rolled her eyes. "Yeah well he was walking with me from COW to the Grand Hall and I sort of slipped. And fell on my face. As if that wasn't bad enough but I took him down with me and one of my books slipped and hit him in the face. He was really nice about it but I could tell he thought I was weird." We were all laughing. Courtney turned to Jessica and asked her.

"Truth or dare?" Jess picked dare because Courtneys dares were usually fairly tame.

"I dare you to call Mr. Moscowitz a sexy beast to his face." The colour drained from Jessicas face but none of us could resist laughing. She groaned and slapped her forehead but grabbed the camera necklace that Mick held out to her. She quickly got up and left the room. Aftere about 20 minutes she came back into the room, looking like she she'd seen a ghost. Liz took the necklace from her and plugged it into a laptop. The video began playing. Jess entered the library and found Moscowitz reading a textbook. He looked up at her.

"Can I help you Jessica?"

"Yes Mr. Moscowitz. I was wondering where you get your hair cut because that do really makes you look like a sexy beast." Jessica (the one watching) slapped her hands over her face and we were all cracking up on the floor. After evereyone finished laughing it was 11 so we all decided to go back to our rooms. The girls and I ran down the hall quietly and Macey opened our door. I flicked on the light but someone grabbed me around the waist from behind. So I did what any Gallagher Girl would do. I attacked.

"Gallagher Girl! It's me!" I immediatly stopped fighting and turned around in his arms.

"Zach?" He grinned at me and I smiled back quickly wrapping my arms around his neck and squeezing him as close to me as he could get. "You're back!" He chuckled and kissed my hair.

"Yeah. I missed you." I pulled back a little and looked into his eyes. He quickly leaned down and I lost myself in his kiss. We started slow but it was getting a little more heated as I felt Zachs' tongue asking for entrance that I quickly gave. I was thoroughly enjoying myself until I felt something hit my side. I pulled away from Zach and glared at Bex.

"Well honestly Cam if you guys are going to make out we don't need to see it. Take him to that room you found." 2 days ago I had been exploring one of the unnels that were left and I found a random empty room. I had moved blankets and stuff in there and it was pretty cool to hang out in. I looked up to Zach who gave me a questioning look but I just smiled and dragged him out of my room, shouting a quick goodbye to my room mates. I held his hand tightly and pulled his into the tunnel. We got to the room and we went in. Zach looked around.

"Wow. So you just found this? It's pretty cool." I nodded. He went over to the pillows I had set up and got comfy. I layed down beside him and he pulled my back against his chest tightly.

"So how was the mission? Where are Grant and Jonas and that other guy?" I really wanted to know how it went.

"It was alright. I ran into my mom." My eyes widened but he just stroked my face. "Calm down Cam. She took me to the COC base but I escaped after 2 days. I have friends there. Friends who would love to be free from them but are in too deep. They helped me get out and then I made my way to Blackthorne, convinced Grant, Jonas and Nick to come with me and we had to sneak out of Blackthorne but here we are. Or I guess here I am. The others crashed as soon as wee got to our room but I had to come see you." He said cheekily and I giggled slightly. I rolled over so I could see him and I kissed him quickly.

"I love you." I said. He smiled.

"I love you too Gallagher Girl." We layed down together, whispering things to eachother and kissing softly every little while. I fell asleep snuggled against the man I loved and I couldn't have been happier.

My dream was interrupted by someone rubbing my back and whispering in my ear.

"Cammie, baby it's time to get up." I groaned and snuggled farther into his chest. He laughed. "Gallagher Girl we're gonna be late." I frowned.

"Shut up I'm trying to sleep." I grumbled. He laughed but sat up making me fall off of his chest. "Zach!" I whined.

"We start classes today Cam. Breakfast starts in like 20 minutes." I pouted playfully at him and he rolled his eyes at me. I stuck my tongue out at him. "Oh so we're 5 now?" I laughed, pecked his cheek and stood up. I went to leave and go back to my room but he grabbed me back. "Hey! I want a real kiss." Before I could respond his lips were on mine. I kissed him back hard and he wrapped me up in his arms. I felt his hands slip under my tank top and I was about to push him away but they just stayed on my stomach, rubbing circles with his thumbs so I didn't mind. We stopped kissing and rested our foreheads together.

"Mmm. I don't wanna go." It was true, I wanted to stay there at least for a little longer but I knew the girls would worry. So I tore myself away from Zach and went to get ready for breakfast.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Gallagher Girls Ally Carter does.**

"May I have your attention please?" I looked up from my conversation with my friends to see my mom at the podium. It was breakfast time and everyone

was laughing and chatting in Russian (our assigned language for meals that day). The girls had been teasing me about being out all night with Zach but we had just been sleeping. Anyways mom was at the podium which usually meant something shocking was about to happen, but this time I was prepared. I knew exactly what was going down. She was about to welcome the boys.

"Now girls we have some special guests who are going to be staying with us for a while now I'm sure most of you recognize some of them from the exchange and one from last year but I'm sure all of you will do your very best to make them comfortable. And with that in mind, I would like to welcome Zachary Goode, Grant Newman, Jonas Anderson and Ryan Callaway **(AN: I changed Nick to Ryan sorry!)**to the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women!" She exclaimed, and with that the doors burst open and the boys walked in. A lot of girls froze and stared, others tried to secretly check their appearances but we just rolled our eyes and when back to eating.

"Honestly, I can understand the 7th and 8th graders, they werent here for the exchange but there are girls in our class acting like they've never seen boys before." Macey said with an eyeroll. I smiled and shrugged as Zach slid in beside me with a plate of food. He kissed my cheek and then started shovelling food into his mouth like it was about to run away. Bex gave him a discusted look.

"Bloody hell Zach do you have to do that at the breakfast table? C&A hasn't helped you at all." I laughed but Zach glared at her. I noticed the other guys standing there awkwardly so I grinned at them and decided it was time for introductions.

"Hey guys. Grant, Jonas it's good to see you again. But you, I've never met. Ryan is it?" He nodded and smiled smugly at me.

"Yeah, and you must be Cammie. When Zach was still at Blackthorne he never shut up about you." I laughed as Zach tried to punch Ryan. It was sweet knowing that he talked to his friends about me. I shook Ryans hand and gave both Jonas and Grant a hug (even though I'd really only spoken to either of them once or twice) and that was that. They slid into seats around us, Liz and Jonas had started a conversation about high tech stuff that we had a little bit of a difficulty following but the rest of us were just talking about random stuff. Bex and Grant were flirting with eachother and everytime they said something flirty Mace and I rolled our eyes. And then Grant started using cheesy pick up lines. Lord help us all.

"So Bex, do you believe in love at first sight or should I walk by again?" Zach groaned, I face palmed and Macey gave Grant a look. Bex was blushing but she slugged him in the arm anyways. This didn't seem to faze him though because he turned to Ryan, wiggled his eyebrows and said in a faux-seductive voice,

"So, come here often?" I burst out laughing at the look on Ryans face as he tried to punch Grant from across a table and I could hear Macey snort and mumble something about Bex having competition. I was still giggling 5 minutes later when we all headed off for COW first period. Mr. Smith told us to take our seats so I grabbed a seat between Zach and Macey (she's all caught up now) and with that our lesson started. Our first day went well until 6th period.

It happened in History of Espionage. Professor Buckingham was lecturing us, I was taking notes along with everyone else and ignoring Zachs hand on my knee when all of a sudden I wasn't there anymore. I was in a jail cell and on the other side of the bars was 4 men. 2 were just standing there with evil looks on their faces but it was the 2 in the middle I cared about. One was holding a gun to other ones head, he was sitting in a chair with his hands and legs bound but that's not why I was screaming my head off.

It was my dad

The other man, the one holding the gun gave me a glare.

"Tell me right now!" He roared. At that point I would've told him anything at all but I wasn't in control of my own mouth.

"I don't know!" I cried back. A yell, a bang, a scream and it was over. My father was laying dead on the floor on a pool of blood and just as agony ripped through me I blacked out, just barely noticing someone in the distance yelling my name.

I woke up in the infirmary. I knew even before I opened my eyes. It smelled of antiseptic and the bed underneath me wasn't very comfortable. I let my eyes flutter open and I saw 4 people. My mom, Zach, Bex and Dr. Hawk. Bex was sitting in the window seat (like the one in Mr. Solomons' room), mom and Dr. Hawk were talking quietly by the door and Zach was sitting in a chair beside me.

"Zach?" I whispered, looking at him. His forehead had been creased with worry but when I spoke he instantly looked me, moved closer and gave me a smile.

"Hey Gallagher Girl. You guys, she's up." Everyone shifted their attention to me. Bex rushed to my side, as did my mom. Dr. Hawk hung back a little bit with her stoic expression in place. Ignoring my mom and Bexs' questions (Are you ok? Do you need anything?) I turned to Zach.

"What happened?" He gave me a weird look but shook it off and grabbed my hand.

"Uhm, in class your expression went blank and then you just started screaming. I was trying to calm you down along with the girls and Professor Buckingham but you would't stop and it was like you couldn't see us but then you just went limp so we brought you here. Cam, Dr. Hawk thought you might've had a flashback. Do you remember anything?" I thought for a minute, closed my eyes and went back to class. Zachs hand, my pen moving across a page, Professor Buckinghams voice in my ears and then... I gasped and knew I must've gone pale. Mom spoke in an alarmed voice.

"Cammie? Sweetie are you ok?" She had her arms around my shoulders and was shaking me slightly but I didn't care because all I could think about was,

"Dad."

"Are you sure you'll be ok?" Zach asked me for the millionth time. After I explained everything to Dr. Hawk and my mom they both left the infirmary, Dr. Hawk to update her file on me and I think my mom because she didn't want me to see her cry. Bex had hugged me and left to find Macey and Liz for damage control because I had flipped out in front of our entire senior class (not good!) which just left me and Zach. We'd gone back to room, layed down on my bed and I had cried into his shoulder for a long time until I was just whimpering and hiccuping. I couldn't get the images out of my head.

Zach had been good with it. He'd hugged me and kissed my forehead and stroked my hair and whispered reassurances to me, offering any sort of comfort he could think of and, though I was grateful for it I needed some time to think by myself so when he mentioned going to update Solomon I encouraged him to do just that but he was hesitant about leaving me alone scared I would break down with out him, which was exactly what I was planning to do. Not that he needed to know that. He was sweet and I loved that he wanted to be there for me but I needed to grieve by myself for a while. So after he left, I curled up by myself on my bed and cried a little more.

Half an hour later I had gotten up, cleaned myself up and the ache in my chest had gone from agonizing to just a dull pain. I had a migraine from crying but I had convinced myself that I would be fine. So with that in mind I went to find my best friends and boyfriend.

**Sorry I took a while! This is a pretty good chapter though don't you think? I liked writing this one for some reason. So we're getting a little more in depth with Cams memories which are very upsetting for everyone and I'll get into it a little more with the other BBs later too :) so I want your opinion, am I really really out of character or am I just slightly out of character? I really want you guys to review and tell me what you think ok? Love ya XOXO**

**PS, if you guys havent you should check out the blog on Ally Carters website. there are excerpts from GG5 :))**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys, im so sorry i havent updated in so long but my computer got a virus and it took FOREVER to get fixed :(. I hope you guys like this chapter, its not my best but I was desperate to get one out ASAP. enjoy :) XOXOXO**

**I do not own the Gallagher Girls.**

When I found my friends they were all seated in a secluded part of the library. Bex, Grant and Macey were sitting on a couch with Grants arm slung across Bexs' shoulders while Liz was curled up in a ball on a chair and Jonas was on a different chair. Ryan was sprawled out on the floor, his back leaning against the side of Lizs' chair. As soon as they saw me everyone stopped talking but I just rolled my eyes and sat down on the smaller couch to the left of Jonas' chair. Bex turned to me and gave a look of concern.

"You ok Cams?" I felt my eyes pricking but ignored it and blinked the tears away. I didn't want to cry there. I smiled back to her and nodded. She grinned. "Good. Ok so the story is that your mom wanted to see how everyone did in a crisis and you wanted to test your acting skills so she got you to pretend to uhm, freak out during a class. Your mom already approved the story and Tina is spreading the rumor as we speak. Although, she was a little suspicious." I frowned but thanked them. I loved my friends, how they were always there for me. I assumed that Bex had already explained everything to everyone so we moved on and talked about what I had missed. Apparently not much. Abby had done some review for Cove Ops and Madame Dabney had given a quick lesson on the finer points of Japanese Tea Parties. Fun.

Zach strolled in after that and found us all. He greeted everyone and plopped down next to me. I smiled at him and grabbed his hand. He smirked back and pulled me so I ended up in his lap. I giggled and pressed a kiss to his neck before turning and leaning my head on him. When I turned around I noticed everyone staring at us with different expressions. Liz was giving us the "aw" look, Bex looked like she wanted to laugh at us, Macey was smirking, Grant looked puzzled, Jonas was smiling slightly and Ryan was smirking just like Macey... Hm there could be some potential there... Grant spoke up then.

"Cammie what have done to Zach?" Zach glared but the rest of us burst out laughing. Zach grumbled something about Grant being an insignificant tool so I kissed the side of his jaw, hoping it would calm him and make him happier and it worked. He turned his attention to me and kissed my temple, whispering loving words against my skin. I smiled to myself and just listened attentively.

"I love you so much. Your the best thing that's ever happened to me, you know that? I don't know where I would be without you." I pulled him down after that and we started kissing. It was light, just lips pressing together intimately and I was completely lost in him until I heard my Aunt.

"Squirt, as much as we all love watching you two make out there's something I need to say." I abruptly pulled away from Zach, who was looking more than a little dazed, and turned to her, hiding the blush that was creeping up my neck. She gave a short laugh but I didn't change my expression. She turned from fun to professional in 3 seconds.

"Pop quiz. Helicopter pad in 15, normal clothes, tell the other seniors." Her mask cracked and became mischevious. "Was that Solomon-esque enough?" We all laughed kind of sadly (because let's face it, no one could be Joe Solomon except Joe Solomon, who was gone. Or supposed to be gone) and nodded. She turned to me. "Cam your mom okayed this because I got a lot of operatives out there to be around. So as long as you stay with Zach, which I'm sure you would've done anyways, you're fine. So go. you have 14 minutes from right now. Macey jumped up and dragged us all to our room while knocking on all the doors in the hall yelling about the pop quiz. She threw me a pair of dark wash skinny jeans with light brown ankle boots, a white tank top and a peach coloured lace top to to go over it. I threw them all on, put on my cross necklace (the video camera one) and rushed out the door. The boys met us at the front entrance and we all rushed to the helipad. Abby was waiting there with her hip cocked, arms crossed and the wind from the helicopter blowing her hair around her face I had never seen my aunt look more like a model than I did then.

"Where are we going?" Tina yelled as the last of the girls arrived. Abby just shook her head and waved us on the the helicopter. When we boarded and all sat down, she turned to us.

"You can talk to eachother. Just settle in for the ride." I shrugged and turned to my friends, we were all sitting in two rows, facing one another. Our row was Zach by the window, me then Macey and their row was Bex by the window, Grant then Ryan. we all started talking at once.

"Where do you think we're going?"

"Abby's gotta be taking us somewhere bloody awesome!"

"I love missions!"

"Do you think this is safe?" When I said that everyone stopped and looked at me. Zach placed a strong arm around my waist and Macey grabbed my hand and squeezed. Grant looked like he was thinking hard on something, Ryan was giving me a sympathetic look. Only Bex seemed to still be normal and also know exactly where I was going with this.

"Cammie, Abby is not Townsend. She would not purposely take you somewhere just to use you to lure out the Circle. She's your aunt and she loves you and she wants to keep you safe, unlike Edward Townsend. I swear if I had three minutes alone with that guy..." Her expression turned menacing and Grant looked scared. I laughed a little.

"Bex we already got him once, remember?" I winked and her and Mace both grinned while the guys looked confused. Zach leaned closer and I stiffened a little feeling his breath on my ear. He was going to be the death of me.

"What did you do Gallagher Girl?" I turned to him and stole his smirk.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He frowned and pulled me so I was sitting across his lap with my back to the window. He got really close to my face and stared into my eyes. I wanted to look away but his dark eyes were mesmerizing.

"Tell me." I wasn't giving in that easy so I shook my head and cuddled into him before he could protest. I placed my head in the crook of his neck and he hugged me closer. He kissed the top of my head.

"Love you." I smiled. After about an hour and 20 minutes I felt us descending. Abby came back into the room where we were all seated and looked at us.

"I hope you kids like hockey because we're watching a Canucks vs. Rangers game." Some of us whooped, others groaned but I didn't react. I didn't mind hockey but it wasn't that great. I stared straight at my aunt from Zachs' lap.

"What's the catch?" She smirked and everyone else went silent.

"You're mission is simple. Find me." She threw an envelope to Tina and with that she turned and left us alone in the helicopter. Tina opened up the envelope and pulled out 11 tickets to the game. We all stood up and girls started leaving the helicopter. I was smiling on the outside but I was nervous and as Zach pulled me up, I knew he could sense it. He didn't say anything, just gave me a reassuring smile and helped me straighten the wig I was pulling on (wavy blonde).

"You guys ready to go?" I looked up to see Bex, Grant, Macey and Ryan waiting for us. I smiled and nodded, grabbing a ticket from Ryan's hand. We all left and weent to enter the stadium. Once we got inside we all started laughing and joking around like normal teenagers until we found our seats. My cover name was Amelia, Zach's was Nate, Bex was Allie, Grant was Vince, Ryan was Bryce and Macey had decided on Rachel. We all had disguises on and were having fun joking around.

"Hey Rachel you and Bryce should get together." Que Bex's evil smile.

"Oh shut up and go stick your tongue down Vince's throat Allie." We all laughed as Grant and Bex pretended to blush but I remembered the mission and went to whisper in Zach's ear.

"We'll never find Abby just sitting here. Wanna walk around a bit?" He nodded and gave me a not-so-secret smile, pretending like we were going to find somewhere to make out like two normal kids. I giggled and stood up. When Bex figured out we were leaving she gave me a slightly panicked look but I shook her off and tugged Zach along to a concession booth, trying on hats with the Canucks symbol, laughing as he tickled my sides and made goofy faces. He, dispite my protests that this was a mission, bought me one of the hats that I immediately put on. We looked like a couple in love, which we were but we were both keeping a sharp eye out for Abby. Every person I saw I was stripping pieces away, seeing if anything about them could possibly fit that of my aunt. We spotted 5 other agents in the crowd but no Abby.

"Chameleon here. Anyone spotted her yet?" I mumbled into my comms. I was answered with a bunch of no's and one "well what so you think?" from Kim which made us all chuckle. Finally, Zach nudged me.

"Don't turn around but that woman with the grey backpack and red hair looks sort of familiar don't you think?" I looked in the reflection of a popcorn maker and gave him a confused look. I was positive that was not my aunt. His eyes widened and his face paled as he started rapidly whispering into his comms.

"Everyone to helicopter now. Not in fifteen minutes, now. There's a Circle member here, understand me? Go." His grip around my waist was firm and he was propelling me towards the exit as quickly as possible without looing inconspicuous. When we made it back to the heicopter almost everyone was there including my aunt who was dressed in a jersey and skinny jeans with curled, brown hair. She rushed us all on and ordered the pilot to get back to Gallagher. Zach was still holding me tight while ignoring Bex who was firing questions at him. Abby gave her an evil look.

"Bex be quiet. Now is everyone alright?" We all nodded. She kept her face emotionless. "Ok. Talk amongst yourselves until we get back."

**Comments, questions, concerns, suggestions? REVIEW!**


	13. Chapter 13

**So i'm not exactly proud of this chapter. I could've done more with it but oh well. it's zammie central tho ;) lol... everybody, mentally prepare yourselves for what I am about to say, GG5 (THE REAL ONE) COMES OUT IN... wait for it... 12 DAYS OMFG! ENJOY**

**I dont own tha Gallagher girls. **

"Zach, Cammie can you guys come up here please?" Zach and I folllowed Abby to the front of the helicopter. I kept peeking at his face but it was expressionless. Abby crowded the 3 of us into a circle and gave Zach a blazing look and at that moment she was not the fun, cool aunt that I knew. She was an operative hell bent on completing her mission. To protect me. "Zachary what the hell just happened?" Zach's eyes flickered to me for an instant but went right back to lock with Abby's.

"Me and Cam were walking around and I saw someone I recognised. I figured it was you because who else would I notice when you were the one I was looking for but when Cammie said she didn't know who that person was I realised that I had seen her before. She's from the Circle, I used to see her around when I was a kid but the last time I saw her was like, 2 years ago. My mom trusted her, or well I guess sort of, my mom doesnt really trust anybody but I remember my mother always talking to her about plans and things. Her name was Laine. Laine Patterson I believe. I thought she was dead. But anyways I just knew she was from the Circle so I flipped out because Cam was there but I don't think she saw or noticed us." Abby nodded and sent us back to our seats to deal with our friends.

"What happened?" Bex immediately questioned Zach with a sharp voice. I cut her a look and she backed off. I was worried about Zach. He was distant, he wasn't talking much and he was barely looking anyone in the eye which were all good indications that hee was upset about this. I pushed him into his seat and climbed into his lap, pulling his chin so he had no choice but to look me in the eye. His expression was more guarded than I had seen since before I ran away and that upset me.

"Talk to me." I said quietly, trying to be gentle even though I was frustrated. He shook his head and muttered an insincere,

"Later." I sighed but nodded and just stayed in his lap for the rest of the ride while our friends cast worried glances every minute or two.

**Back At The School**

As soon as we got back I dragged Zach off to the secret room we had spent the night in before. He came willingly but reluctantly. I made him sit down on the blankets that were layed out on the floor and I sat in front of him, his hand in mine being the only source of contact between us. He wasn't looking me in the eye so I sighed before starting.

"What's wrong Zach? Why are you closing yourself off to me?" He finally met my gaze but his eyes were guarded.

"I don't know what you're talking about Cammie." Oh that was it. I was pissed off and hurt. But mostly pissed.

"The hell you don't. God Zach I thought we were past this! The secret keeping and the lies and the half non-answers that made me want to punch a wall? I thought those were done. That you were finally willing to be honest and have a real relationship with me. If you close up like this every freaking time we have an encounter with the Circle this relationship, you and me, is not going to work. Do you have any idea how bad it hurts? The have someone you love with everything you are shut you out? I just, I need to go. I'll see you around." I got up to leave but he pulled me back and started talking in a strained voice.

"How am I supposed to just, tell you everything? I want to Cammie I really do but trust me when I say, you won't like what you see. The Circle, I hate them with every fiber of my being for a lot of reasons but that life is a part of me. It's a part of how I became who I am and there are things I've done, that I can never forgive myself for so how can I expect you to forgive them if I can't? You are so good. You're like this indicator of everything good about this world. Rightness, love, beauty, happiness. That's how I see you. But me? I've done things, bad things. I am not a good person Cam. And you deserve someone who is." I was speechless. So I did the only thing I could think of. I grabbed him roughly by the shirt and smashed my lips to his, letting all of my feelings pour out of me. I seperated from him for a minute and made his look me in the eyes.

"I love you Zach. There is nothing you can tell me that would make me change my mind about that. I know you're not proud of your past, of the person you were, but you aren't them anymore. I need you to understand that not only are you a wonderful, understanding, amazing person you're also the man I fell in love with. I need you to be able to talk to me ok? About everything. Because when you shut me out like that it hurts more than anything they could do to me." My eyes got watery and his face went from attentive to alarmed. He quickly pulled me into him and started stroking my hair, whispering to me as I tried to hold the tears in.

"Shhh Gallagher Girl I'm so so sorry. Shh it's ok I won't do it again. I love you Cam." That made me look up. He was always so freaking gentle with me. I had to have him closer. That's all I wanted, was to be as close to him as humanly possible. So with that we sank to the floor.

2 hours later I was all cuddled up in a cocoon of Zach. His smell was everywhere and I could still taste him on my bruised lips not to mention the overwhelming feeling of security I had when he was around and we were together like this. Quiet and alone. Like I could almost hear our hearts beating in sync. His hands were tracing random patterns over my arms and stomach and I sighed in contentment. He kissed, behind my ear and whispered huskily into it.

"I love you more than anything." I hummed quietly.

"I love you too." He nodded and I knew he was smiling.

"Get some sleep Babe. We have class in the morning." I decided to listen so with Zach's body cupped around mine I quickly fell asleep.

When I walked back to my room the next morning I was jumped by 3 insane girls.

"What happened?"

"Where were you?"

"Is that a hickey?"

"You were with Zach?"

"All night?"

"AGAIN?"

I was annoyed at this point. "Guys! Yes, I was with Zach last night. And ok yea that might be a hickey." I was going to kill him! Macey smirked at me.

"Was his shirt off?"

I looked away. "Yes."

Her smirk grew. "Was yours?"

"...Yea." Bex's mouth dropped open and Liz made a weird squeak noise but Mace stayed focused on me.

"Pants?"

I glared. "We didn't do that Mace. I took my jeans off and wore his shirt to sleep but his stayed on. The. Whole. Time. Now can I go get ready?" Macey nodded and I gave a huge sigh of relief when I walked into the bathroom. I inspected my neck in the mirror and cursed when I saw a purplish mark. How did I not notice? I quickly jumped into the shower and pulled my hair into a bun afterwards. Rushing to breakfast, I almost collided with a group of eighth graders coming around the corner. When I finally made it to the Dining Hall and took my seat beside Zach and Liz, Grant was once again being a cornball and everyone was laughing. Zach wrapped his arm around my waist but I elbowed him and glared.

"Really Zach? A hickey?" He grinned but stayed silent as I grumbled quietly to myself. Stupid, arrogant, moronic...

And that's when it happened.

"CODE BLACK CODE BLACK CODE BLACK CODE BLACK"

**review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry guys but this chapter isn't that great. Please review ideas for next chapters!**

It took everyone exactly 2.3 seconds to get over the shock and spring into action. 2.3 seconds for my school, and the only home I've had since I was 12, to go into chaos. Girls jumped up, teachers started yelling instructions, security staff rushed out of the Grand Hall and my mother across the room locked eyes with my boyfriend and nodded. Zach had a death grip on my arm and was dragging me out of the Grand Hall while I struggled against him. He finally got tired of forcing me and pulled me in front of him, gripping my shoulders.

"Cammie stop it. You're the one person they want and the one person we can't let them get. Stop struggling Cammie and come with me. Please." His eyes were determined but for the first time, I could read his emotions like a book. He was petrified.

"Zach do you really believe I'm going to let them fight my fight? I can't do that and you know it." We were glaring into eachothers eyes and I knew this was a struggle I was not going to win. "If you want me out of this, you'll have to drag me there kicking and screaming." He was about to retort when we were interrupted.

"That won't be nessicary Ms. Morgan. The mansion is empty, no one is here. Zach, let her go." With those words all of the adrenaline I had been running on rushed out of my body. Zach loosened his grip but kept his arms around me as if he didn't quite believe the one man I knew I would never doubt again.

"Are you sure? They could be anywhere. Are you 100 percent positive that she's not here, looking to grab Cammie as soon as we let our guards down? You know what she's capable of just as well as I do Joe." Zach was speaking quietly but I could here the urgency of the words. He was still completely tense and his arms werent holding me in the light, romantic way I was used to. His hold on me was protective and frantic. Like he was just waiting for someone to try and snatch me away from him. Mr. S gave us a weird look, like we were some sort of puzzle he was figuring out. But eventually he just met Zachs gaze and spoke calmly.

"Zach, she isn't here. Do you think anyone would clear the mansion if Cammie's safety was in jeopardy? Zach for once, I need you to listen to me. This was probably just an attempt to rattle us, or testing of our security." I could see Joe wasn't getting through so I turned around in Zachs arms and forced him to look me in the eye. I spoke in the most calming and soothing voice I could muster at that moment.

"Zachary Goode listen to me. The Circle, if they were here, are gone now. No one is going to take me away from you ok? I'm safe." His eyes turned relieved and he pulled me closer so he could hug me tight and I welcomed the embrace fully, clutching him to me, squeezing myself as close as I could get. I felt my words become true. In Zach's arms I knew I was as safe as I could get. I opened my eyes to see Solomon still staring like he was slightly shocked. He met my eyes but our gazes were broken when I heard voices.

"Oh! There you are! Rachel, Bex! I found her!" My aunt rushed over and pulled me away from Zach into a hug.

"Squirt are you ok?" I nodded into her shoulder and heard her again. "How about you?" I didn't realise who she was talking to until I heard him talk.

"Yeah I'll be fine." Zach said. My aunt nodded and I heard him mutter to himself under his breath. "She's fine." With that my mom and roommates appeared rushing to me and hugging me tight. I kept the tears back as they yelled about how worried they were and when Solomon approached me I was slightly nervous.

"Cammie, can I talk to you for a while?" I nodded, wondering what on earth Solomon had to say to me but, after promising to find Zach and the girls, followed him to the one common room no one ever used. He sat in a chair and I sat across from him on one of the couches. He took a deep breath and began.

"I've noticed that you and Zach are becoming quite serious." He waited for me to nod before continuing. "Are you sure that is such a good idea? Before you get defensive let me finish. I care about you a lot Cammie. Your father was the best friend I've ever had and he made me promise to look out for you and even if you don't know this, I care about Zach a lot too. He's a good person I''ll be the last one to say otherwise but getting so involved with someone at such a young age might be a bad idea. Especially considering the complications of the Circle and his mother. I'm just looking out for the two of you." I knew he was telling the truth, he was just concerned but he didn't understand what this was.

"I appreciate your concern, I really do but this isn't something I can just put on hold for a better time. I love Zach with everything I am and he loves me too, we need eachother. As for us being too young well, I think we're both fairly grown up. You have to admit, neither of us are the same people we were when we met. I've been forced to grow up and I don't think Zach ever had much of a childhood but this past year and a half he's changed even more. He's who I want to spend my life with and I've learned that my life or his could be taken at any time is this life." He smiled a little bit and I shrugged.

"Oh trust me, I know he loves you. I've known that for over half a year. I just wasn't sure you two were ready for this." He was smirking a little when he said that and I blushed but laughed.

"I'm going to go find him and my friends. They're probably waiting." He nodded and said goodbye before I ran back to my room where I found my friends along with the guys. Liz looked up from the laptop her and Jonas were obsessing over and smiled at me while Bex looked over from where her and Grant were demonstrating the new P&E moves for Macey ( and beating up Ryan in the process).

"Hey Cam!" They both said and I smiled and waved, walking over to where Zach was resting with his eyes closed on my bed. I knew he wasn't sleeping so without a word I sat cross-legged and pulled his head into my lap. He smiled a little as I pulled or played with his hair and sighed when I massaged his temples. Bex ran over and sat down beside us while everyone else kinda circled around the room.

"So, while you were gone we figured after this morning, by the way your mom wants to meet with you in her office for supper tonight, we could all use some fun time so we've decided-" Zach cut her off.

"I want it known that I had no part in this decision." I laughed as he sat up and moved to sit between me and the headboard.

"Me too." Liz chorused but Macey shushed them and told Bex to continue.

"We're gonna play 'Never Have I Ever'." Bex finished triumphantly. I gave her a confused look.

"Isn't that a drinking game?" She shrugged.

"Yeah but we're just gonna use bottles of pop." I laughed but I was sort of dreading this game. Macey smirked at us and asked in a devilish tone,

"Who first?"


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys, so im soooooo sorry but I'm not going to continue with this story. It's not really going anywhere and i have no idea what to do with it plus school is being awful right now (we've all been there). I wanted to thank you guys for being such awesome readers and reviewers, I really appreciated the reviews and PMs from you guys. **

**So thank you and if I do more stories I hope you guys read them! I've loved writing for you guys.**

**If anyone wants to talk about adopting this story please PM me.**

**XOXOXOXO ILOVEYOUALL**


End file.
